APPENDIX  II.
 

   TROPICAL PRODUCTS:  THEIR  CULTIVATION IN

                  DIFFERENT COUNTRIES.



                Ceylon as a Field for Planters.



 Before a general meeting  of the members of the London Chamber of

 Commerce, held on the July 25th, 1892, Sir Arthur N. Birch (late Lieut.-

 Governor of Ceylon) in the chair, Mr. J. Ferguson (Hon. Corresponding

 Secretary of the Eoyal Colonial institute and of  the Imperial Institute)

 delivered an address on the " Production and Consumption of Certain

 Tropical Products with reference to their cultivation in Ceylon, namely

 Tea, Coffee, Cacao or Cocoa, Coco-Palm Nuts, Fibre  and Oils, Cinchona

 Bark, Cinnamon, Cardamoms,  Rubber, Pepper, &c."

   Mr. Arthur Thompson (Messrs. W. H. & J.  Thompson) in moving Sir

 Arthur Birch to the Chair, made complimentary reference to the Lecturer

 and his  good work for Ceylon ; as did afterwards  the  Chairman in

 opening  the meeting, in highly eulogistic terms.

   Mr. Ferguson said : Sir Arthur Birch and Gentlemen, I fear  that you

 will have been anticipating, from the rather discursive title of my paper,

 that it is to cover a very large area, and to lead you into the consideration

 of a mass of varied statistics.. But I will spare you  the latter  as much

 as possible this afternoon, and will endeavour, in the treatment of my

 subj ect, to be concise enough to  suit even a city  audience in business hours.

   My object is to refer (1) to Ceylon as a field and schoolfor the tropical

 agriculturists ; (2) to some of the staple products cultivated in that

 island, and exported thence; and (3) to  the  present position and pros¬

 pects of such  staples with reference  to  the world's production and

 consumption thereof.

   Ceylon is well-known as one of the most beautiful and  attractive of

 British  dependencies.  It is a  paradise to the botanist, but of  scarcely

 less importance to the naturalist generally;  and it is historically, socially,

 and  scientifically interesting.  But it  is from the  planting and com¬

 mercial point of view that we  are now to regard it,  and  I  would begin

 by saying that the island is one-sixth less than Ireland in area, and has

 to-day a population of about 3,050,000,  For  situation, while poetically

 described as a pearl-drop on the brow of India, it may be said to occupy

 a central position in  Southern  Asia, its capital, Colombo, being  now the

 greatest  calling and coaling port for the mail  and commercial steamers

 in the Eastern seas.  At this time, when the London press  is full of the

 records  of disasters from hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, and big fires,

 the position and circumstances of Ceylon are of special  import to  the

 British capitalist, the merchant, and planter ; for we can  speak of an

almost complete immunity from cyclones, such as occasionally ravage

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